Editing Operation Hardtack I (section)

==Historical background==
Many events and proceedings leading up to Operation Hardtack I, such as previous nuclear testing results and the global political atmosphere, influenced its creation and design. One such historical circumstance was that nuclear radiation concerns were mounting publicly and abroad by 1956. During the [[1956 United States presidential election|1956 Presidential Election]], ending nuclear testing was a campaign issue and nuclear safety was one part of that discussion. At the same time, the [[Soviet Union|Union of Soviet Socialist Republics]] (USSR) was publicly proposing a moratorium on testing.<ref name=CW_1/>{{rp|page=149}}

In 1956 during June, the [[National Academy of Sciences]] (NAS) recommended new radiation exposure limits for the general public in a report entitled: "The Biological Effects of Atomic Radiation".<ref name=CW_1/>{{rp|page=153}} The AEC, which was the body that developed nuclear weapons,<ref name=CW_3/>{{rp|page=3}} accepted the NAS recommended radiation exposure limits. Some AEC members asserted that the limits were reached incorrectly and should be reviewed in the future. Charles L. Dunham, AEC Director of the Division of Biology and Medicine (DBM), said that the new limits of nuclear radiation exposure would prevent them from continuing testing in Nevada. Dunham, in association with other AEC offices and officials, made recommendations to move further tests to the Pacific to eliminate the need to determine radiological fallout safety.<ref name=CW_1/>{{rp|page=154}}

Also in 1956, the AEC was designing a test series that included nuclear detonations which would release significant amounts of nuclear fallout. The series came to be known as [[Operation Plumbbob]] and took place in 1957 from April 24 to October 7. Operation Plumbbob was followed by Project 58/58A and Operation Hardtack I. At the time of testing, Operation Plumbbob was the most extensive nuclear test series held at the Nevada Test Site.<ref name=CW_1/>{{rp|page=159}} President [[Eisenhower]] was very cautious in approving Plumbbob due to public concern.<ref name=CW_1/>{{rp|page=157}} Consequently, the AEC held brief and ultimately fruitless discussions of moving some of the tests in the Plumbbob series to the next planned Pacific Ocean series, Operation Hardtack I, to minimize radioactive fallout in and around the Nevada Test Site.<ref name=CW_1/>{{rp|page=155}}

When Operation Plumbbob began in the spring of 1957, the planning process of Operation Hardtack I was well underway and the number of nuclear detonations planned were more than those in the Plumbbob series.<ref name=CW_1/>{{rp|page=183}} At the same time, radiation and nuclear proliferation concerns around the world had led to formal discussions between the US, USSR, and other countries on the topic of instituting a global ban on nuclear testing as a path to disarmament. In 1957 on August 9 AEC chairman [[Lewis L. Strauss]] proposed to President Eisenhower a preliminary plan of Operation Hardtack I. President Eisenhower objected to the length of the four-month testing period and that the plan called for 25 shots,<ref name=CW_1/>{{rp|page=183}} which was one more than in Plumbbob.<ref name=CW_1/>{{rp|page=161}} As a result of the discussion, Eisenhower consented to yields no larger than {{convert|15|MtonTNT}}, and ordered that the testing period be as brief as possible.<ref name=CW_1/>{{rp|page=183}}

Project 58/58A followed Operation Plumbbob and began almost two months later starting in 1957 on December 6. Project 58/58A was composed of four safety tests; they were not supposed to result in nuclear radiation. All four took place at the Nevada Test Site. The safety tests were intended to ensure that the bombs would not malfunction. However, the test named Coulomb-C which took place in 1957 on December 9 did malfunction. It resulted in an unanticipated {{convert|500|tonTNT}} blast. The blast released a nuclear radiation fallout cloud that traveled toward [[Los Angeles]] and resulted in low levels of nuclear radiation. The bomb failure added to public concern over nuclear testing's safety.<ref name=CW_1/>{{rp|page=186}}

Some tests were cut in an effort to meet Eisenhower's demands for a shorter testing period, but new tests quickly filled their place. AEC chairman Strauss remarked that the large number of shots was due to the "DOD's requirement for an increasing number of different nuclear weapons types".<ref name=CW_1/>{{rp|page=187}} Eisenhower eventually approved the plan for Operation Hardtack I in late January, even though it still contained 25 shots. On March 31, 1958, the USSR announced a suspension of all tests and called on the US to do the same. On May 9 the leader of the Soviet Union, [[Nikita Khrushchev]], accepted Eisenhower's invitation for technical discussions on a nuclear testing moratorium and negotiations began on July 1 of the same year. Eisenhower announced to the US on August 22, 1958, that the ban would begin October 31. US scientists responded by seeking to add more tests to the Hardtack Series in case it turned out to be the last chance. Consequently, Operation Hardtack I consisted of 35 tests.<ref name=CW_1/>{{rp|pages=189–190}}

There was public health concern with the number of shots in Operation Hardtack I.<ref name=CW_3/>{{rp|page=23}} Studies released in March 1958 indicated that people as far as {{convert|400|mi|nmi km|sp=us}} away could have severe retinal burns from two of the three high-altitude tests: Teak and Orange.<ref name=CW_1/>{{rp|page=187}}<ref name=CW_3/>{{rp|page=257}} It was then decided that they would be moved to [[Johnston Island]], which was {{convert|538|mi|nmi km|sp=us}} from the nearest inhabited island. The high-altitude nuclear tests delivered the first openly reported man-made high-altitude [[Nuclear electromagnetic pulse|electromagnetic pulses]] (EMP). Teak, which was detonated at {{convert|252000|ft|km|sigfig=3}} and was {{convert|3.8|MtonTNT}}, produced an [[aurora]]-like effect that was visible from [[Hawaii]], {{convert|700|nmi|mi km}} displaced from the detonation. Most radio communications immediately dropped across the Pacific Ocean. The blackout in Australia lasted for 9 hours and Hawaii's lasted for no less than 2 hours.<ref name=CW_3/>{{rp|page=266–269}}